Approximately 8:30am, Mom text messages me: Dad’s temperature has spiked; a new, resistant strain of bacteria has entered his body resulting in ICU isolation; suspect infection somewhere else in his body.

That…is not the way to start your day. Just when you think things are getting better, they took a turn for the worse…or so we thought.

For about an hour, our hopes were smashed only to learn that the isolation and new strain was a miscommunication between the nurse and doctor. While dad’s lung infection (pneumonia) had gotten slightly worse, the strain and isolation weren’t true. He was okay, and we were hopeful again.

The rest of the day saw dad becoming back to his old self. His sense of humor was back, his smiles were adorning his face again and he was ready to do the bills. THE BILLS? Yes, he wanted to do the bills.

His pain from the surgery and infection comes and goes but is made tolerable by the pain meds. He’s now on a number of strong antibiotics to fight the infection in his blood and will have to be on a heavy regiment of antibiotics, two times a day for the next six-to-eight weeks. Due to the neck surgery, he will be in a cervical collar for the next six weeks as well. Obviously, he’s not out of the weeds but he’s well on his way to recovery.

Thank you everybody for your love, prayers and support for our family during this time. I speak for us all when I say that we have felt your prayers. We couldn’t have made it without you. I will continue to post updates as new information becomes available.

Funny moment of the day: When dad was asked if his neck hurt, he said “I don’t know, prick my finger and I’ll let you know which one hurts more.”